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Apple's Sir Jonathan Ive: our competitors have 'completely the wrong goals'
London's favorite only remaining evening free-sheet has snagged an interview with Apple design maven Sir Jonathan Ive. In the piece he talks about being thrilled and humbled by his recent Knighthood, the importance of his London upbringing and why Apple's competitors can't win. Pointing to a desire not to make "genuinely better" products, Cupertino's unnamed rivals instead are "interested in doing something different, or want to appear new," which he says is the wrong goal. The difference is that he and his team aren't tied to a price, a schedule or a marketing scheme -- which he believes "have scant regard for people who use the product." There's also a barbed reference to consumers being able to sense "great care in the design and when there is cynicism and greed" in products on the market. Head on down to the source link to read more, including his frustration with designers who "wag their tails in his face" -- who knew designers had tails, eh?
London Evening Standard interviews Jony Ive
The London Evening Standard interviewed famed Apple designer Jonathan Ive. As the man credited with the industrial design of the iPod, iPhone and iPad, Ive's name is well-known, but his face is not as public as CEO Tim Cook or Phil Schiller. This exclusive interview paints a personal picture of Ive that we often don't see. During the interview, Ive talks about his knighthood, London and, of course, his time at Apple. When asked about his earliest encounter with product design, Ive describes his first Mac: It was when I first used a Mac - I'd gone through college in the Eighties using a computer and had a horrid experience. Then I discovered the Mac. It was such a dramatic moment and I remember it so clearly - there was a real sense of the people who made it. You can read this and other gems from Sir Ive at the London Evening Standard's website.
Apple lead designer Jonathan Ive knighted for the New Year, how's your 2012 looking?
Apple Senior VP Jonathan (or Jony) Ive has been credited with fueling the company's resurgence alongside Steve Jobs with products like the iMac, iPhone and iPad, and for these successes has been made a Knight Commander of the British Empire as a part of the New Year's Honour's List. Aside from having a much better NYE celebration than yours, he'll be tapped on the shoulders by the Queen's sword and that will forever be Sir Jony to you, commoner (we'll see if he can make it through the ceremony without suggesting some tweaks for better balance and usability -- you can see his passion above as he eats an invisible sandwich pontificates about new iMacs). It's a bump up from his previous title of Commander of the British Empire and keeps the cycle going, as he released a statement appreciating the benefit of a "wonderful tradition in the UK of designing and making". [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Pierre Cardin PC-7006 touts itself as UK's first 'designer tablet,' wears last season's Android
It was bad enough when Pierre Cardin's first tablet waltzed into CeBIT 2010 flaunting an outdated processor, but now its little sister is hitting the scene wearing a démodé OS. Admittedly, running Froyo isn't exactly scandalous, but we'd expect a 7-inch slate bearing the name of a legendary designer to at least keep up with current trends. While Pierre's pad isn't hip to Honeycomb, it does sport a respectable 1GHz Samsung S5PV210 Cortex-A8 processor, 512MB RAM, 4GB of internal storage, MicroSD support up to 16GB and built in WiFi. True to its fashonista roots, this tablet knows that it needs to accessorize to look its best; 3G is just a separately sold dongle away. The clout of fashion-label tablet computing can be yours for only £275, and when you're all ordered up and ready to go, come on back -- we've got a belt buckle that might interest you.
Andy Hertzfeld, 'former Macintosh wizard,' designed the Google+ Project
Google+ looks... a little different. Almost as if it didn't even come from Google. And those drag-and-drop circles? Luscious. Turns out, there's a reason for everything, and he goes by Andy Hertzfeld. According to an investigative piece put up by Wired, Andy's actually credited as being the "original Mac guy," responsible for software and user interface design while working for Apple between 1979 and 1984. He picked up a new role at Goog in 2005, but according to the report, "he had previously felt constrained because its design standards didn't allow for individual creativity." That all changed with Emerald Sea, a diddy that would eventually become known as the search giant's most ambitious foray yet into the wide world of social networking. It's bruited that Andy was given the freedom to go wild whilst designing Google+, and it shows -- the interface throughout is about as intuitive as one could ever hope. 'Course, it takes more than good design to seal a project, but there's no doubt that this is one heck of a start. The rest of the story? Tucked away in that source link, just south of here.
Google+ design credited to original Macintosh team member Andy Hertzfeld
You may have heard about Google+, the hot new sharing product from Google that went official today, and it sounds cool (sounds cool, but remember how cool Wave and Buzz sounded? Let's just say we're reserving excitement so far). But one exciting thing about the new project is how cool and smooth it looks, and TechCrunch has noted the reason for that look, based on Steven Levy's reporting: it's designed in part by Andy Hertzfeld, one of the members of the original Macintosh team back in the 1980s. Hertzfeld now works for Google, and supposedly he was let free to exercise his creative influence as he liked on the new Google+ system, creating something for the folks in Mountain View that looks like it might have come from the early days of the Cupertino company. Hertzfeld even credits some of his influence at Google to Apple's own resurgence lately, saying that Apple's sky-high relevance in the tech and mobile industry may have "had a little bit to do" with his chance to help create Google+. In other words, when you finally get one of those invites that are starting to float around, and finally log in to the system to see what it is and what it's like, take note of any Macintosh-related influences you might see. Odds are, they're Mr. Hertzfeld's work.
LaCie introduces Porsche-designed, aluminum-framed USB 3.0 HDDs
LaCie, a company that's no stranger to employing aluminum and high profile designers on its external storage drives, is back at it today with the announcement of a pair of new HDDs. The P9220 Mobile and P9230 Desktop drives -- one's thin and portable, the other's chunkier and stores more data, guess which is which -- harness the creative minds at Porsche Design to deliver... well, some pretty tamely designed peripherals. We guess it's all about minimalism and letting the scratch-resistant aluminum casing speak for itself, but we still kinda feel like the Porsche guys did this on a Thursday lunch break. As simple as it is, the look of these drives still managed to impress the guys at CrunchGear, whose hands-on coverage can be read at the link provided below. If you want to get to grips with one yourself, the P9220 starts out at £89.90 ($105 in US) for 500GB and will also have a 1TB option soon, whereas the P9230 costs £99.90 / $120 for a terabyte or £129.90 / $160 for two -- all come with USB 3.0 connectivity and the pride-stroking knowledge that you own a legitimate Porsche.
Kokuyo's X-VIZ designer calculator is tailor-made for one-armed accountants
We're not exactly sure why anyone would ever want a designer calculator, but for those who do, Kokuyo's got you covered. The Japanese company has just announced the X-VIZ -- a super slim, matte-finished device that can help you balance your checkbook with one hand. Crafted by robot designer Tatsuya Matsui, the X-VIZ probably isn't something you'd use to carry out heavy duty operations and, at just 12mm thick, it certainly won't double as a mouse, either. But at least Kokuyo refrained from tacking on another superfluous laser or detachable holster, as it's been known to do. Both black and white models of the X-VIZ will hit the Japanese market on May 11 for ¥5,250 ($64), so hit up your favorite importer if you're interested in grabbing one.
Lego-inspired helmet concept protects your brain, reads comics so you don't have to
Love comic books, but think that reading is for dumb jerks? Jonathan Robson has your back. The Scotland-based designer has created this minifigure-inspired helmet, which will help you make it through that sequential tome while protecting your head from lightweight falling debris. The helmet has volume control and a page skipping button on the side while, on the back, there's a port for plugging in a Lego USB flash drive loaded up with audio content. The helmet is designed for kids, of course, but it should also work for tiny-headed grownups sick and tired of all of those pesky word bubbles. Another view of the concept after the break.
iTable iPhone dock looks like a smartphone, acts like a stereo (video)
We've seen enough iPhone docking stations to last a lifetime -- we've even seen our fair share of tables that take style cues from the smartphone -- but we have to admit, Kyle Buckner's iTable is in a league of its own. This rather involved docking solution combines the aesthetics of the iPhone 4 with a little bachelor-pad-of-the-future flair, allowing its user to summon a set of eight recessed speakers with a simple swipe of the hand. It's also packing a set of four aluminum-trimmed cup holders, complete with LED lights to give your drinks a little mood lighting of their own. The thing's all hand-crafted, and while it was designed with the iPhone 4 in mind, it can be built to fit your smartphone of choice. If you're actually considering purchasing one of these things, may we also suggest a floating bed? Of course, you could always just hop on past the jump and check out a video of the table in action instead.
Cool custom-made iOS device stand
Design student Andrew Kim has produced the very cool Polyply to avoid having all his iOS devices strewn around his desktop like so many expensive paperweights. Made from acrylate polymer (acrylic plastic), birch plywood and birch, it has cutouts for his iPad, iPod touch Classic, iPhone and pen. It can be turned to give more vertical or horizontal orientations, and it looks a perfect match for his wireless Apple keyboard, with cutouts for the relevant cables. Andrew says it took him two weeks to put the stand together -- and if this is any indication, he looks to have a bright future ahead of him as a designer. Clarified that it's an iPad, not an iPad 2, in the stand. [Via Cult of Mac]
Chris Bangle, former BMW designer, bringing his deconstructivist ways to Samsung devices?
That's the E65 7 Series up there, considered by many to be as ugly a car as they come. It's the product of one Chris Bangle, Chief Designer at BMW for most of the '90s and '00s, who strove to give cars a futuristic, deconstructivist design that didn't always find favor among car buyers who were still stuck in an orderly present. Now we actually are in the future and, well, that rear-end still isn't looking any better, but Bangle did pave the way for more dramatic stylings in modern cars. He stepped away from the auto industry two years ago and now we're hearing that he's moving on to a gig at Samsung. Interestingly, Sammy and BMW have had something of a relationship over the years. We saw newer 7 Series sprout support for the T*Omnia in 2009, and back in 2005 Samsung's Chief Marketing Officer told Bloomberg that the company needed to "become like a BMW." According to Korean paper JoongAng Ilbo, Bangle will be working on cellphones and netbooks, which we expect to feature dramatic flame surfacing along with Dame Edna indicator lights and oddly bulging posteriors. [Thanks, Tim]
Timescape Sci-Fi watch makes you work for the time of day, looks good doing it (video)
If you're like us, you don't mind working that grey matter to tell the time, especially if the watch your wearing looks and acts like something ripped from the U.S.S. Enterprise. The Timescape Sci-Fi watch, thus named for its cryptic time telling interface, sports a chrome exterior and uses a series of blue LEDs to illuminate a rectangular grid, giving you unique temporal readouts. Each line contains a series of dots representing minutes or hours, with the vertical lines displaying hours, the first three horizontal lines showing five-minute increments, and the last row offering exact minutes. Sound complicated? Well it is, but sometimes looking good takes a little work -- you think Uhura rolls out of bed looking like that? The Timescape Sci-Fi watch is now on sale exclusively from Gadgets and Gear for $70, but if you just like staring at shiny flashy things, we've got a video of the timepiece after the jump.
KT's EV-F600 Bricks phone lives up to its name
Billed as a designer device with a clean, simple interface, Korean carrier KT has introduced the rather oddly-named EV-F600 Bricks -- which, now that we think about it, really isn't that odd of a name at all considering how very brick-like the phone appears to be. The aforementioned interface seems to be a pretty clear-cut Windows Phone 7 rip, accompanied by 7.2Mbps HSDPA, WiFi, a 3.2-inch WQVGA display, and 2 megapixel camera that serve to take it just a little downmarket from your average WP7 release. Look for it in your choice of white or black for 400,000 won (about $360).
LG's next set of 3D glasses were designed by a designer, will grace CES 2011
Alain Mikli, for those of you (and us) who didn't know, is a highly regarded designer of eyeglasses. LG, as we're all aware, is a 3D-peddling purveyor of HDTVs. Marry the two together and the offspring is a rather fetching set of 3D goggles, built out of "select metals," and featuring a co-patented nose bridge and perfect weight balancing for the utmost in user comfort. LG promises to let us play around with the new eyewear at CES next month, which we'll be more than happy to do -- telling you about the eventual price tag, on the other hand, probably won't be such a pleasant experience. More imagery of the specs and the full press release follow after the break.
Designer sofa encourages you to lose the remote control
If you've ever lost an important gadget to that black hole colloquially referred to as a "couch," you know what this is for -- it's a seat designed to hold your possessions without swallowing them whole. Designed by Daisuke Motogi Architecture of Tokyo, Japan, "Lost in Sofa" is made of upholstered cubes that naturally form slots. Sadly, the armchair's not for sale as far as we can tell, but rather one of a kind, and resided at DesignTide Tokyo 2010 until a few days ago. Ah well. Perhaps if we can find a vendor of plushy cubes, we'll just build one ourselves.
The feel-good Friday post
Rick Pierce, self-described "mid-level designer moving into senior-level roles," was recently invited to Valve's offices for a second-round interview. He didn't get the job. "You're fantastic, but let's give it a little more time," was Valve's parting encouragement. Rick's story doesn't end there, though: He sent a nifty card (pictured above; full size here) to Valve as both a "thank you" -- Rick says he "loved every minute" of the interview -- and a crafty reminder to the company that he's a talented designer. His generally uplifting account, as told in comments on Reddit, underscores a tough job market and inspires positive creativity in spite of the down economy. As Rick says, "Hang in there, it gets better." In that spirit, we'd like to point you to Rick's Quandry texture pack for Minecraft and encourage you to poke around the site of his indie studio Retribution Games. We'd also like to invite you to share links to any of your own game design-related work in the comments section of this post.
Android-based AlessiTab home tablet gets November release, higher price
Eager to get your hands on that Stefana Giovannoni-designed AlessiTab home tablet first announced back in April? Then it looks like you'll have to wait a bit longer, and shell out a bit more cash than first expected. According to Design Boom, the device is now set to roll out in Italy sometime in November (instead of this month), and it will run €399, or about $535 (a full hundred euros than previously expected). Otherwise, the Android 2.1-based tablet looks to be the same as we've seen before, including a 10.1-inch capacitive touchscreen, a DVB-T digital TV tuner, built-in WiFi, and a webcam for video calls. Notably absent, however, is access to the Android Market, but Alessi promises it'll provide a selection of its own apps specifically designed for the home environment.
Nokia's Peter Skillman talks design priorities, gives us hope for a sunny MeeGo future
A day before jetting off to London to commence his role as MeeGo's head of User Experience and Services, Peter Skillman was kind enough to sit down with the design junkies at ZURB and dish out his thoughts on what makes for good mobile design and where it is that most companies trip up. Lest you forget, this is the dude that was in charge of putting the Palm Pre together, so he's not exactly without credence in these circles. Which is a good thing, because he doesn't bother with pulling any punches. Peter namedrops Motorola's Motoblur as an unnecessary layer on top of Android, criticizes the failure of different groups within companies to communicate effectively, and finishes off his treatise with a list of priorities for successful design: consistency, emotional content, and a paranoid fear of mediocrity. Inspiring stuff, we're sure you'll agree. Other tidbits of import include the fact that Pete had to withstand nine days of interviews before getting the Nokia job, and also this memorable quote on the topic of smartphones: "if you're not succeeding at the high end, then you're absolutely doomed to failure." We've been saying the same thing for ages and it's encouraging to know that Nokia now has an exec with his finger on the market's pulse. Now let's see him deliver on those words. You'll find the full interview at the source link below.
Nokia hires Peter Skillman, former Palm Design VP, as MeeGo user experience chief (update: confirmed)
Now this, this is what we call exciting. Nokia has managed to scoop up Peter Skillman from the wreckage of the HP/Palm merger. One of the many senior VPs to leave Palm upon its assimilation into the HP empire, Peter spent 11 years with his previous employer and was in charge of the design team that produced the deliciously curvaceous Palm Pre. Now at Nokia, he'll be heading up the user experience and services division for MeeGo, which means that if you weren't excited for the platform already, you've now got a very good reason to be. Update: We met with Marko Ahtisaari, Senior Vice President of Design at Nokia, to get comment on this story. His response? "Right, I just hired him." So why not announce it, we asked, this is pretty big news? According to Marko, "We have products today, products are more interesting. Peter is looking after the user experience design of MeeGo and services and is a great new addition to the team." Marko's team, to be specific. To us this seems like another component that could help Nokia break into the US market with MeeGo. [Thanks, Dave]
